MLB News

J.D. out of lineup for home debut with D-backs

Hand contusion forces slugger to miss second straight start

By
Jarrid Denney

July 21, 2017

PHOENIX -- J.D. Martinez missed his home debut with his new club on Friday night.The slugger, acquired from the Tigers in a trade on Tuesday, left his first start with the D-backs on Wednesday with a contusion on his left hand after being hit by a pitch. Friday marked his

PHOENIX -- J.D. Martinez missed his home debut with his new club on Friday night.The slugger, acquired from the Tigers in a trade on Tuesday, left his first start with the D-backs on Wednesday with a contusion on his left hand after being hit by a pitch. Friday marked his his second straight missed start, but he could be back in the lineup any day."The hand's good," Martinez said. "We did an X-ray. It came back negative. Did an MRI today just to make sure; negative as well. So it just seems to be a little bone contusion. So we've just got to test it out, see how it feels. Just a day-to-day type deal.""We're going to put him through some tests," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "I won't rule out that he's available tonight. Just going to see how it all plays out as we continue to move forward and get him back in the starting lineup as soon as possible."Banda set for Major League debutThe D-backs have announced that Anthony Banda will be the team's starter for Saturday's matchup with the Nationals.Banda will be slotted in for Taijuan Walker, who was placed on paternity leave Thursday. His wife gave birth to the couple's son Friday."I had a nice conversation with [Walker] today," Lovullo said. "Everybody's healthy; they had a beautiful baby son. His wife is doing great. … He's going to be unavailable for the next couple of days. He'll take the full three days on the paternity list. We're going to slot him in after this series and it's looking like that will be Tuesday."

With Walker out, Banda will make his Major League debut on Saturday. The 23-year old left-hander is 7-5 this year with a 5.08 ERA in 18 starts and has struck out 93 batters in 101 innings."Anthony's been throwing the ball very well, outside of his last outing," Lovullo said. "His walk-to-strikeout ratio is exceptional. I think overall he's been growing and learning as a young pitcher; he's been figuring out game-planning, figuring out how important attacking game plans are. Just growing, as a young pitcher should in the Minor Leagues."Injury updates• Rey Fuentes, who suffered a thumb contusion after grounding out Tuesday and was placed on the 10-day disabled list, was seen by the team's hand specialist. X-rays concluded that there are no breaks in his hand and Lovullo said that Fuentes will not take part in any baseball activities for the next few days.• Yasmany Tomas, who went on the disabled list with a right groin injury on June 6, is showing "very minimal discomfort with certain movements when he gets on his feet," according to Lovullo."He's been in the batting cage, he's been hitting, he's been throwing and everything is trending in a very positive direction with Yasmany," Lovullo said.• Rubby De La Rosa was placed on the 10-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation on July 6 and was slated to make his third rehab appearance with Triple-A Reno on Friday night.